This invention relates to a device for forming elongate pasta products, preferably such as noodles, "fettuccine", and the like, into pasta nests.
As is known, for the formation of pasta nests, a tubular duct is used which is supported with its axis vertical and driven toward and away from a nest formation and rest surface.
A plurality of threads of "long" pasta dropped through said tubular duct, collect on the rest surface forming a desired pasta nest whose plan dimensions fit inside the forming duct and whose height dimension is substantially equal to the distance separating the bottom end of said duct from the rest surface.
Although in many ways advantageous, the above-outlined process for making nests of pasta has a well-recognized drawback not overcome heretofore.
In fact, already as a nest is being formed at the bottom of the forming duct and later, when the nest is taken away from the forming duct for subsequent handling, it is not infrequent for end sections of some noodles to straighten up as if in an attempt at resuming quasi-elastically their original condition, and in so doing, to protrude even substantially from the nest outline, in particular above the nest upper profile.
Such protruding sections, besides posing some problems of nest packaging, are usually apt to break off and form waste in the finished package, which may disqualify the product and its manufacturer.
Various prior expedients, generally applied to the very stage when the nests are being formed, have proved technically unreliable and, above all, cost-intensive.